


New Best Friend

by HoodedAndromeda



Category: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Dog Lover, Dogs, Encouragement, Fluff, Friendly Stranger Interactions, Pre-Canon, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Sibling teasing, Slice of Life, Social Anxiety, dog people, just for fun, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25391776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoodedAndromeda/pseuds/HoodedAndromeda
Summary: While stopping at a 7/11 for sodas with Bobby and Nubbins, Bubba sees a dog he desperately wants to pet. But the idea of talking to the dog's owner is nerve-wracking.Just a nice, simple, slice-of-life fic :)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 39





	New Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the writing prompt "Gentle Soul"

Bubba stared over Nubbins’s shoulder at a car parked a few spots away, squeezing the bottle of root beer Bobby had just handed him. Standing next to the car was a girl with long, dark hair pulled back in a braid. She was pouring water into a little plastic bowl from a disposable bottle. A dog pranced around her excitedly as it waited for her to set the bowl on the ground so it could have a drink. It was a big dog, big enough that it would probably come up to Bubba’s waist if he were standing next to it. It had ears which stood up straight like a cat, and a curly tail like a pig, and it had the fluffiest fur Bubba had ever seen on a dog.

When the bowl was filled, the dog lapped eagerly at the water while the girl leaned back against her car and took a sip of a drink of her own. As Bubba watched the dog, he tapped one hand against the edge of the truck bed, practically vibrating with excitement—it took all of his willpower to resist pointing, since Grandma said that it was rude to point. Neither of the twins were looking at the dog, instead focusing on the sodas Bobby was uncapping with the bottle opener on his keychain. Bubba patted Nubbins on the shoulder, trying to get his attention so he’d see the dog, too.

“ _Look, look,_ ” Bubba said, once he finally had his brother’s attention, “ _look at that dog!_ ” Nubbins cocked his head, pocketing the slightly bent bottlecap Bobby had dropped into his palm.

“W-wh-what’re ya t-ta-talkin’ ‘bout, Bubba?”

“ _That dog! It looks so nice and soft._ ” Both twins followed Bubba’s gaze, looking out across the parking lot, and seeing the woman and dog standing a few yards away from them.

“The d-dog?” Nubbins said, looking back at Bubba. He nodded eagerly.

“Uh-huh!” Bobby smiled, pushing a few strands of hair out of his face.

“You wanna see if you can pet ‘im?” Bubba’s excitement was immediately replaced with anxiety. He shrank down, hunching his shoulders and staring into his lap, rolling his root beer between his palms. He would love to pet the dog, but that would mean having to talk to the girl. He wasn’t sure if he could do that. She was really pretty, with long legs, shiny hair, and a gentle-looking face. Talking to anyone outside his family made Bubba nervous, but pretty girls made him especially shy.

“ _I don’t wanna bother the lady,_ ” Bubba said sheepishly, feeling his face flush. Bobby clicked his tongue.

“S’alright, man, go ‘head an’ ask. She seems laid back.” Bubba shook his head, still not looking at his brothers. “She ain’t gonna hurt ya, I mean, look at ‘er,” Bobby lowered his voice a little, speaking in a more hushed tone, “she’s an itty bitty li’l thing. That dog’s prob’ly bigger’n she is standin’ on ‘is hind legs.” Bobby was right. The girl was petite—delicate. Like a little doll. But that didn’t make her any less intimidating.

“ _I don’t wanna bother her,_ ” Bubba said again. Nubbins huffed.

“D-don’t be so ch-chi-chickenshit, ‘s just a g-girl an’, uh, a dog. An’ if ya don’t ask n-now, she’s gonna leave an’ ya w-wo-won’t get ta pet it.” Bubba began to tell his brothers that it was no big deal, that they could just get back on the road, but before he could, Nubbins shouted, “HEY!” Bubba jumped, and looked up just in time to see Bobby elbow Nubbins in the ribs. He made a low, sorta grunting sound which definitely meant “shut up”. Nubbins only snickered in response.

“’scuse us, Miss,” Bobby called out to the girl in a much friendlier voice than Nubbins had just used. He’d always been the best at talking to girls out of the four of them, “ya got a second?” The girl glanced between the three of them, then offered Bobby a tentative smile. Bobby smiled back at her.

“What’s up?” She asked, pulling her long braid over her shoulder.

“You got a real good lookin’ dog there. Our li’l brother,” Bobby jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Bubba, “was wonderin’ if he could maybe pet ‘im. That cool wi’ you?”

“Oh!” The girl’s face brightened, and her smile grew. She turned her gaze toward Bubba, who suddenly felt extra-extra shy. “Yeah, sure he can pet ‘im.” She gently led the dog by his collar towards Bobby’s truck, stopping just a few paces away.

“Tight, thanks! Go on, Bubba,” Bobby patted Bubba’s shoulder reassuringly, and after a few seconds, Bubba clambered out of the truck bed, landing heavily on the asphalt. He couldn’t bring himself to look the girl in the eyes, choosing instead to keep his focus on the dog.

“ _Hello,_ ” he said softly, crouching down and offering his palm to the dog. Bubba waited for the dog to finish sniffing him before he began gently stroking his neck and back. He felt even softer than he looked! His tan fur was smooth and warm and thick. Bubba felt like he was petting a wiggly pile of cotton.

“Good,” he cooed, “pretty.” Bubba giggled as the dog licked his forearms, and the girl laughed too.

“He likes ya,” she said in a friendly, upbeat tone. Bubba peeked up at her, then immediately looked away again. She had big brown eyes that looked sorta honey-colored in the light of the sunset, and long black eyelashes, and pink, soft-looking lips that were still smiling. Bubba swallowed, his throat feeling dry and tight. He looked over his shoulder at Bobby and Nubbins, who were standing a few feet behind him. Both of them were watching the girl. Nubbins was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, glancing back and forth between the girl and the ground, like he was nervous all of a sudden, which was weird, because he hadn’t been nervous before the girl came over to them. Bobby, on the other hand, looked relaxed, leaning against the driver’s-side door of his truck, lazily twisting one of his many beaded necklaces around his fingers as he looked at her.

“ _What’s his name?_ ” Bubba asked no one in particular. Bobby’s eyes flicked over to Bubba, who repeated his question. Bobby shrugged, stretched, and then put his hands in his pockets.

“Don’t ask me, Bubba, he ain’t my dog,” he replied with a smirk. Bubba sighed heavily, then forced himself to look back at the girl’s face.

“ _What’s his name?_ ” He asked, knowing that his cheeks had definitely gone bright red.

“He, uh, he’s askin’ fer yer dog’s n-na-name,” Nubbins said, a little too loudly. Bubba was relieved that Nubbins had clarified his question for him. It was frustrating enough that he couldn’t talk right. He probably would’ve died of embarrassment if he’d been on his own and had to play charades with a stranger in the middle of a parking lot. Of course, if he _had_ been on his own, he wouldn’t be petting this dog in the first place.

“His name’s Dusty,” the girl answered. Bubba thought that was a good name for the dog. The color of his fur reminded Bubba a lot of the dusty dirt roads all around Newt. Dusty looked like maybe he used to be white but had spent so much time rolling around in the dirt that he was a sandy brown now instead.

“ _Dusty,_ ” Bubba repeated to himself, “ _Dusty._ Good _dog, Dusty._ ” Dusty nuzzled his snout against Bubba’s belly with a funny snuffling sound, his curly tail wagging side to side so fast it looked like a big tan blur.

“You two can pet ‘im too, if you wanna,” The girl said to the twins.

“Oh, y-yeah?” Nubbins asked, sounding a little surprised.

“’Course! He loves the attention anyway, dontcha, Dusty?” Bubba’s hands stilled as he looked back and forth between the girl and the twins, waiting for his brothers to give her some kind of answer. Within seconds, Bobby stepped forward, Nubbins following closely behind him. They both held out their palms to Dusty, and once he finished giving each of them a thorough sniff, Bobby started scratching at Dusty’s cheeks and chin while Nubbins stroked his neck.

“This is definitely the best day he’s had all week,” the girl said brightly.

“ _Me too,_ ” Bubba replied. Even though he was pretty sure she hadn’t understood what he’d said, the girl still smiled at him and lightly patted the back of his hand. Bubba was stunned, his whole body going stiff and feeling very hot and his head going fuzzy. Her fingers were so soft, and that gentle little touch felt like a butterfly had briefly landed on his hand. After Bubba felt like he could move again, he resumed petting Dusty all over, trying very hard not to look as flustered as he felt. He and Nubbins stayed mostly quiet for the next few minutes except to give Dusty a little praise, while Bobby began asking the girl lots of questions.

First, he asked her what her name was, which Bubba realized he probably should’ve done himself. He’d been petting her dog too long not to have asked what her name was, too. She said her name was Loretta, which Bubba thought suited her. After Loretta told Bobby her name, he told her his, and introduced Bubba and Nubbins as well. Then Bobby asked her some questions about Dusty, like what kind of dog he was, how old he was, and how much exercise he needed. He asked her some stuff about herself, too, like where she was coming from and where she was headed and what she was up to for the rest of the weekend. Bubba was glad he was there. It was nice to learn all about Dusty—and a little bit about Loretta, too. Bubba couldn’t’ve asked her any of that himself. After talking for what felt like a long time but probably wasn’t, Bobby finally straightened up, putting his hands on his hips and tossing his head to move his hair away from his eyes.

“We oughtta let you ‘n Dusty get on yer way, Loretta. We’ve already been keepin’ ya long enough.”

“It’s no big deal,” Loretta waved her hand dismissively, “we’re in no hurry.” She looked up at the sky, biting her bottom lip. “I guess we _should_ get a move on, though, ‘fore it gets any darker.” Nubbins and Bubba straightened up too, and Bobby gently nudged Bubba’s side.

“Whaddaya say?”

“ _Thank you,_ ” Bubba chirped.

“You’re welcome. Was very nice meeting y’all. Night night!” Loretta took Dusty by his collar, waving goodbye as she led him back to her car.

“Goodnight!” Bobby called back. The three of them stood still for a moment, watching Loretta pull out and drive off in the opposite direction they were headed.

“That wasn’t so b-ba-bad, huh?” Nubbins said after they lost sight of the car. Bubba shook his head with a bashful grin.

“Nuh-uh!” Nubbins nodded once, satisfied with Bubba’s response.

“C’mon, let’s go, ‘fore the s-sodas get any warmer,” Nubbins mumbled. Bobby snorted.

“No one said ya need two hands ta pet a dog, you coulda drunk yers.” Nubbins shrugged, grabbing his bottle of Big Red out of the bed and circling around the truck to the passenger-side door and climbing in. Bobby turned his attention to Bubba, grabbing his own soda, a Dr. Pepper, and taking a swig.

“You did a good job, Bubba.”

“ _I did?_ ” Bubba squawked. He knew he’d done okay, he didn’t get too scared, but he hadn’t done too well talking to Loretta. He’d mostly just talked to his brothers and Dusty.

“You did!” He took another sip of his soda as Bubba climbed back into the bed. “She was cute, huh?” Bobby said teasingly, and Bubba felt himself blush all over again, hiding his face in his hands with an embarrassed groan. Bobby laughed loudly, playfully shoving Bubba’s shoulder.

“Y’see? There ain’t nothin’ scary ‘bout girls. You just gotta put yerself out there. Make a move, y’know?”

“Uh-huh _._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> It's nice to write the boys actually enjoying life every once in a while :)


End file.
